Tricky Hiragana: き, さ, ち, and ら

When learning Hiragana, some characters can look really similar. A common point of confusion for beginners is the characters き (ki), さ (sa), ち (chi), and ら (ra).

Why do they look similar?

All these characters have some kind of horizontal line at the top, a slanted vertical line in the middle, and a curve like belly at the bottom.

Now let's look at each individual character and see how each is different from the others.

き (ki)

The Hiragana き (ki) is the easiest to identify from the group. It has two separate horizontal lines at the top. If you are visual, you can imagine a traditional key where the two horizontal lines are the teeth of the key.

さ (sa)

The character さ (sa) is similar to き except that it has only one horizontal line.

For both き and さ, their bellies are flat and faces the left. You can also imagine a curve of a buttock sitting down. Traditionally, they are written separately from the stem with a cut. However, some modern font would display them connected with the stem or the vertical line.

ち (chi)

As for the character ち (chi), it also has one straight horizontal line. Its belly or curve is more bloated and faces the right. As a whole, it looks like the number 5 but with the vertical and horizontal lines intersecting like a cross.

ら (ra)

Finally, the character ら (ra) is very similar to ち, but the top stroke is short, sometimes very short in some writing or font that it looks like a comma or a curved stroke that looks more like a dot. Its horizontal and vertical lines do not cross that makes it also looks like the number 5 but disconnected or broken at the top. Its horizontal line is too short and strokes downward.

In summary, here's how you can easily distinguish them:

• き (ki): Two horizontal lines.
• さ (sa): Like き, but only one horizontal line.
• ち (chi): One horizontal line but looks like a '5'.
• ら (ra): Short and slanted horizontal line, looks like a '5' but broken.

Keep practicing, and you'll be able to tell them apart in no time!